As part of my health journey I've learned and discovered that my body really doesn't like seed oils. They tend to trigger wheezing and hives if I exercise with them on board. I installed and started the free trial for "Seed Oil Scout" app which is a $25/year app to locate local restaurants that use the higher quality oils instead of the ultraprocessed cheap stuff that everyone seems to use.

That means they use the following for frying/cooking:
Beef Tallow
Butter
Avocado
Olive
Coconut

The app itself frankly is not impressive. All of the data is basically user reported with no verification. In addition it is missing a ton of restaurants in our area.

As of today the ONLY two places "certified" seed oil free are:
Christopher's
Stella


If anyone has more to add let me know. The rest of the non-chain restaurants generally default to "dine with caution" which essentially means nobody knows. It is shocking to see how ubiquitous they are in eating out though.

EriktheRed said:

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I have not been, but i think i remember hearing the new burger joint Patty Daddy on University is seed oil free.

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The french fries are in beef tallow but it is my understanding that the buns have seed oil. Still better than most places for sure and it is primarily the chronically hot oils that generate a lot of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) that can induce free radical formation. So certainly a step in the right direction!

I am not "seed oil free", but most of my products are by default, and I can accommodate it by request on pretty much any item I sell.

Www.Facebook.com/smashedcakestx

(And yes- I haven't kept up with my facebook page in a long while- product of kids and being pregnant)

KidDoc said:

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MiMi said:

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Quote:

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it is primarily the chronically hot oils that generate a lot of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) that can induce free radical formation

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Can you ELI5 what "chronically hot oils" are?

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Oils kept at frying temp for hours at a time at restaurants. They become biochemically unstable and more unhealthy with time and heat. Not something you would do at home.

Asking AI to help since I am not a biochemist!

Heat makes seed oils in fryers slowly break down over time. As they stay hot and are exposed to air and food moisture, the oil oxidizes, darkens, gets thicker, and forms more off-flavors and potentially unwanted breakdown products.intechopen+1
In simple terms:

• Fresh oil is more stable.
• With repeated frying, the oil loses some of its healthier unsaturated fats and gains degraded compounds.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+1
• The more times it is reheated, and the hotter it runs, the faster this happens.acs+1
• Oils high in polyunsaturated fat, like many seed oils, tend to be less stable under fryer conditions than more saturated fats.acs

A helpful way to picture it: frying is like "wear and tear" on the oil. One short fry session does some damage, but many hours or many heat-cool cycles speed up the aging.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+1
What changes in the fryer
Over time, fryer oil can:

• Develop a darker color and stronger smell.
• Become more viscous, or thicker.
• Create more oxidation products and some trans fats.
• Lose some nutritional quality as unsaturated fats degrade.intechopen+1

Practical takeaway
Seed oils can be used for frying, but they do not stay the same forever. In real kitchens, the biggest drivers of faster breakdown are high heat, long frying time, repeated reuse, and lots of oxygen exposure.chhs.colostate+1

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I just want to comment that this isn't specific to seed oils. Any oil kept hot (or heated repeatedly) will have the same issues based on the saturated vs unsaturated lipids in the oil. As a general rule, animal fats (butter, lard, tallow) will be more saturated lipids and lower in unsaturated lipids and will have less of an issue with PUFAs.

BiochemAg97 said:

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KidDoc said:

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MiMi said:

---

Quote:

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it is primarily the chronically hot oils that generate a lot of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) that can induce free radical formation

---

Can you ELI5 what "chronically hot oils" are?

---

Oils kept at frying temp for hours at a time at restaurants. They become biochemically unstable and more unhealthy with time and heat. Not something you would do at home.

Asking AI to help since I am not a biochemist!

Heat makes seed oils in fryers slowly break down over time. As they stay hot and are exposed to air and food moisture, the oil oxidizes, darkens, gets thicker, and forms more off-flavors and potentially unwanted breakdown products.intechopen+1
In simple terms:

• Fresh oil is more stable.
• With repeated frying, the oil loses some of its healthier unsaturated fats and gains degraded compounds.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+1
• The more times it is reheated, and the hotter it runs, the faster this happens.acs+1
• Oils high in polyunsaturated fat, like many seed oils, tend to be less stable under fryer conditions than more saturated fats.acs

A helpful way to picture it: frying is like "wear and tear" on the oil. One short fry session does some damage, but many hours or many heat-cool cycles speed up the aging.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+1
What changes in the fryer
Over time, fryer oil can:

• Develop a darker color and stronger smell.
• Become more viscous, or thicker.
• Create more oxidation products and some trans fats.
• Lose some nutritional quality as unsaturated fats degrade.intechopen+1

Practical takeaway
Seed oils can be used for frying, but they do not stay the same forever. In real kitchens, the biggest drivers of faster breakdown are high heat, long frying time, repeated reuse, and lots of oxygen exposure.chhs.colostate+1

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I just want to comment that this isn't specific to seed oils. Any oil kept hot (or heated repeatedly) will have the same issues based on the saturated vs unsaturated lipids in the oil. As a general rule, animal fats (butter, lard, tallow) will be more saturated lipids and lower in unsaturated lipids and will have less of an issue with PUFAs.

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Username checks out.

Mojo Tortillas company has seed-oil free options, especially if you just get guacamole and/or sour creme. Stay away from the sauces, of course. The flour tortillas use lard. No seed oils in the corn tortillas, either.

Am I the only one who hadn't even heard of this being a thing until last week. I just happened to notice some potato chips fried in beef tallow in HEB.

Sticks&Stones said:

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Am I the only one who hadn't even heard of this being a thing until last week. I just happened to notice some potato chips fried in beef tallow in HEB.

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It's the latest health thing about food. It's been longer since RFK. Remember when it was trendy to avoid gluten?

Watch some videos on how seed oils are made and you won't want to consume them.

Why debate? I'm just happy to see people cooperating on locating seed oil free restaurants… if that's not ur thing, go wherever you like